Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The

As hard as New York City tries to improve its image of being a safe place to live and work, Hollywood can’t resist the opportunity to convince audiences otherwise. In this revisit to life on the “6” (the train that leaves Pelham Bay Park), a group of armed men led by a guy named Ryder (John Travolta) hijack the subway and begin negotiating for 10 million dollars. They generously allot the authorities one hour to get the cash together, or they’ll begin killing the hostages at one-minute intervals.

On the other end of the two-way radio is Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), a MTA (Metropolitan Transport Authority) dispatcher who speaks into his microphone in such a calm and reasonable manner that you wonder why he isn’t working in a smooth jazz radio station. He returns Ryder’s screaming demands with carefully controlled responses. When the hotheaded hostage negotiator from the NYPD shows up (played by John Turturro), Ryder goes ballistic and demands Garber’s return. Now it’s up to the civil servant to solve the problem of the day.

Tension begins to build just minutes into this movie, and doesn’t let up until the credits roll. The story is simple, and this remake of the 1974 Walter Matthau film follows the plot like numbered steps on a dance floor. With few surprises, the production bulldozes its way through this classic ordeal between a constantly cussing antagonist (there are over sixty sexual expletives alone) and our hero (who’s own character flaws will be slowly revealed).

Along with the nearly continual coarse language, violence is another key concern. Gratuitous depictions include gun threats and graphic on-screen shootings. Sexual content is limited to the brief sight of a woman in a bra.

Like the commuter leaving Pelham at 1:23, this film heads down a predictable track and ends up pretty much where you think it will go. (The only unexpected motive in the plot proves highly unbelievable because it likely wouldn’t work as well in reality as it does here.) Washington and Travolta are comfortable in characterizations we’ve seen them in many times before. With a lack of any redeeming messages to help justify the content, it appears you may be better off missing this train.

This action thriller features armed men who board a NYC subway train and take hostages, whom they hold for ransom. Constant peril and gun threats are followed by four graphic, on-screen shootings (blood and explicit detail are seen). Language includes approximately 60 sexual expletives and frequent use of various other profanities and scatological terms. The script also includes a few ethno-cultural slurs. Sexual content is limited to a brief image of a woman in a bra.

What is it about New York City that makes it the perfect environment to create movies like this? What other movies have you seen that presents this city in a totally different light?

Instead of the hero, actor Denzel Washington plays the part of the gun-toting hostage-taker in the movie John Q. John Travolta plays a more sympathetic bad guy in Mad City.

This movie is a remake of the 1974 Walter Matthau film also called The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. The script is based on a book by John Godey (the pen name of Morton Freedgood).

Release Date: 3 November 2009

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 releases on Blu-ray and DVD with the following bonus materials:

- Commentary featuring Director Tony Scott, Writer Brian Helgeland, and Producer Todd Black

- Featurettes: No Time to Lose: The Making of Pelham 1 2 3, The Third Rail   The NYC Subway System, Marketing Pelham and From the Top Down: Stylizing Character.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 on Blu-ray also includes a digital copy of the film and is BD-Live enabled.